Passage: Genesis 26:6-35

The Big Idea

A famine pushed Isaac into Gerar, a city he didn’t want to live in. But God put him there to be a witness. Instead, Isaac gave in to fear and repeated his father’s lie about his wife. Yet God protected him, then blessed him a hundredfold. That’s mercy and grace. When enemies stopped up his wells, Isaac kept digging until God made room. Fear makes us useless to God; His kindness melts our hearts and sends us back out with courage.

Living Where You’d Rather Not

Have you ever lived somewhere you really didn’t like? My first apartment had a neighbor across the hall who would scream for no reason in the middle of the night. Very creepy.

“So Isaac dwelt in Gerar” (Genesis 26:6). Bummer for him.

A famine meant Isaac couldn’t stay in the wide open spaces his family was used to. He was pushed right next to the Philistines, people with different standards, different ideas and different gods.

Was it the famine and blind chance that put Isaac in Gerar? Or God? God.

God took Isaac out of his comfort zone and into the city, surrounded by sin and sinners.
God never tells us to escape the world and hide in a nice house in the country, as nice as that sounds.
He uses famines and trials to put us where He wants us. God cares more about lost people than about my comfort. It might be dangerous, uncomfortable, or less than I think I deserve. Humility accepts it.
Surrender hurts. It feels like dying to yourself and trusting the Lord.

A couple of centuries after Jesus, a movement arose where believers withdrew into the desert as hermits to escape the world’s corruption. But Scripture doesn’t encourage that. Jesus prayed not that we’d be taken out of the world, but kept from the evil one (John 17:15). We’re in the world but not of it.

Jesus Himself was led by the Spirit into the wilderness right after His baptism. He went straight into the famine. He looked alone and felt alone, but He trusted His Father completely. When Satan tempted Him, He answered with perfect trust in His Father’s Word and perfect surrender to His will (Matthew 4:1-11).

Isaac is now where God wants him, ready to be used in a dark and dusty world. How will he respond?

A Lapse of Faith (Genesis 26:7)

When the men of the city asked about his wife, Isaac said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid that if they knew she was his wife, they’d kill him to take her, because she was beautiful.

To be used by God, you have to live by faith. The righteous live by faith (Hebrews 10:38).
Isaac belonged to God, but he had a lapse of faith. He made a decision based on fear, not faith; focused on himself, not on God.
This was an opportunity God had arranged for Isaac to be a witness. The people were watching: Why don’t you worship our gods? Why do you love each other like that? Why are you so blessed?
But Isaac surrendered to fear. Instead of trusting the Lord, he trusted his own thoughts and the enemy’s lies.

Trusting the Lord will never lead you wrong. It may lead you into danger, but God is allowed to do that, and He promises to be with you there. So there’s no reason to fear when you walk by faith. Your faith is in His love, and perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).

Isaac had grown up hearing his father’s stories of telling this same lie (Genesis 12:10-20; 20). I’m sure Abraham said, “Don’t do what I did. Trust the Lord!” But Isaac had his own faith to develop. As much as we’d love to teach our kids this lesson, they have to learn in their own hearts not to trust their own wisdom. And God knows exactly how to teach each of us.

Fear keeps us from being used

So often we shrink back from doing the right thing because we’re afraid. Jesus told us to serve “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40): the most despised and broken people. Don’t be afraid of them. Trust His power and His promise to be with you.

I’ve grown in boldness over the years. I love stepping out in faith to talk to someone about the Lord, because God has convinced me He’s with me. Even if someone pushes back, the gospel is too powerful to stay stopped. But we lose our boldness whenever we compromise out of fear.

Caught (Genesis 26:8-11)

After a long time, King Abimelech looked out a window and saw Isaac being affectionate with Rebekah. (The old King James says Isaac was “sporting” with his wife.)

This wasn’t one quick lie; it was a long season of not being honest.
There was nothing wrong with the affection. The problem was the fear that led to the lie: not trusting God.

Abimelech confronted him: “She’s obviously your wife! Why did you say she was your sister?” Isaac admitted he was afraid he’d be killed.

Like his father, Isaac didn’t think much of the people around him. He didn’t trust them or love them.
But the deeper issue was that Isaac trusted his own judgment instead of God.

Abimelech said Isaac could have brought guilt on the whole city, and he ordered that anyone who touched Isaac or Rebekah would be put to death. Just like his father, Isaac got rebuked by a pagan king.

When God’s people live in fear, it doesn’t make sense to the world: “If you serve the all-powerful God, why are you afraid of what I can do?”

God permitted no one to harm them

How do we grow in courage? Keep your eyes on the Lord, not yourself. On His abilities, not yours.

Psalm 105 looks back on this very season. God remembered His covenant with Abraham and His oath to Isaac. When they were few and wandering from nation to nation, He allowed no one to oppress them, and He rebuked kings for their sake, saying, “Don’t touch My anointed ones” (Psalm 105:8-15).

God is in charge of what happens to you.
He’s working in the hearts of everyone around you.
He protected Isaac even when Isaac was being a goober.

But what if He doesn’t protect us from suffering? We’ll still trust Him and worship Him. It’s an honor to suffer for His name, and a great reward waits for those persecuted for righteousness (Matthew 5:10-12).

Blessed Anyway (Genesis 26:12-14)

Isaac planted crops that year and reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. He kept prospering until he became very wealthy, and the Philistines envied him.

If I were God, I’d teach Isaac a lesson with some discipline! But God is so kind to His children. It’s His kindness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4).

As Isaac carried in basket after basket, I’m convinced each one melted his heart. He had been unfaithful, yet he was still accepted and even blessed. That’s mercy and grace.

And that’s exactly who God says He is: merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Exodus 34:6; Psalm 103:8). He’s worthy to be worshiped, celebrated, served and trusted.

If you’ve done wrong, come back to Him now, with your whole heart. Joel calls us to tear our hearts, not our clothes, and return to the LORD, because He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and full of kindness (Joel 2:13). Even Jonah, angry as he was, knew this about God (Jonah 4:2).

You decide how you respond to Him: with humility or pride, trusting His grace or your own works.

Keep Digging Wells (Genesis 26:15-22)

The Philistines had filled in all the wells Abraham’s servants dug. Abimelech told Isaac to leave because he’d become too powerful. So Isaac moved to the Valley of Gerar and dug out his father’s old wells again, giving them the same names.

No wells means no water. No water means no crops. No crops means no life.
The enemies of God want a famine of life, a famine of God’s Word.
Because God blessed him, Isaac reopened the wells so his people would have living water.

Isaac’s servants found fresh running water, but the local herdsmen claimed it. He named that well Esek (“contention”). They fought over the next one too, so he named it Sitnah (“opposition”). He moved on and dug another, and this time no one fought. He named it Rehoboth (“room”), saying, “Now the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

Keep digging wells. Keep gathering with God’s people. Keep getting up to seek the Lord.
There will be opposition at every step, but God is with you and will provide.
What if Isaac had quit after the second well? “God isn’t keeping His promise. I dug twice in faith and it didn’t work!”
God wants us to keep believing and praying, even when it feels pointless. Keep seeking Jesus. Keep reading, praying and worshiping.

Communion and Compromise (Genesis 26:23-35)

Isaac went up to Beersheba, and that night the LORD appeared to him: “I am the God of your father Abraham. Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you.” Isaac built an altar, called on the name of the LORD, pitched his tent and dug a well.

Isaac was content, living in communion with the Lord: God speaking, Isaac worshiping.

Then Abimelech arrived with his adviser and his army commander. Isaac asked why they’d come, since they hated him and sent him away. They said, “We can plainly see the LORD is with you. Let’s make a treaty.” They even claimed they’d done him nothing but good. (Ha! Not exactly.) Isaac made them a feast, they swore an oath, and they left in peace. That same day his servants found water, and he named the place Beersheba.

Isaac was a peaceful man, which is admirable.
But he may also have been teaching his children that the enemies of God weren’t really that bad, that God’s people could make easy peace with ungodliness.
That attitude would trip up God’s people for centuries.

And sure enough, Esau, Isaac’s carnal son, married not one but two Hittite women, and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

Be careful what you let your children see you make peace with.
Whatever we accept in moderation, the next generation often takes to the extreme.
We’re in the world, but we don’t dig our wells in the same places.

Grace Takeaway

Isaac failed in fear, and God answered with protection, then a hundredfold blessing. That’s the God we serve: merciful and gracious, using His kindness to melt our hearts and turn us back. Wherever He has planted you, even somewhere you’d rather not be, He’s put you there on purpose. Keep your eyes on Him, keep digging wells, and trust Him to make room.

For Discussion

Read Genesis 26:13-16. What is blessing? What have you been blessed with?
Was Isaac’s hundredfold harvest because of his skill? What was the source?
How should the Philistines have responded? How did they respond?
How should a person seek God’s blessing? How can we avoid using His blessings selfishly?
Dig deeper: Psalm 67. This psalm opens with a prayer for blessing (vv. 1-2) and closes with its fulfillment (vv. 6-7), with the nations praising God in the middle.
– Verse 1: What does it mean for God’s face to shine on us? Compare Numbers 6:24-26.
– Verse 2: Why should we seek God’s blessing? Compare 2 Corinthians 4:4-6.
– Verses 3-5: How should we respond before and after being blessed?
– Verses 6-7: What seems to be God’s purpose in blessing His people?

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